Excellent UX from Google, as ever:
We’re introducing a method that lets you opt out of having your wireless access point included in the Google Location Server. To opt out, visit your access point’s settings and change the wireless network name (or SSID) so that it ends with “_nomap.” For example, if your SSID is “Network,” you‘d need to change it to “Network_nomap.”
As Dan Frommer quips on Twitter:
Google’s next blog post: If you don’t want to be photographed by Street View cars, please make sure NO_PHOTO is on your shirt at all times.
User testing has taught us that searchers much prefer the view-all, single-page version of content over a component page containing only a portion of the same information with arbitrary page breaks (which cause the user to click “next” and load another URL).
Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: View-all in search results
In short: Users are sick of the needlessly-paginated nonsense that’s prevalent online.
I missed this earlier in the week, but Google’s announced a read-only API for Google+. There’s lots of details in the blog post, and these developer docs.
Google is very deliberately leveraging their dominant position in search to keep you on Google-controlled pages as much as possible. Always, always keep in mind that Google’s core business is advertising: either they want to show you ads, or they want to collect information about your browsing habits so they can make the ads they show you more targeted. Facebook is a walled garden, but Google is increasingly a pasture with cattle guards.
I’m sure you’re as surprised as I am1 at these revelations. Florian Mueller adds this:
If Google already intended to give privileged access to Motorola in the past, how can anyone seriously believe that if the acquisition of Motorola Mobility was closed, a wholly owned Google subsidiary named Motorola Mobility would not enjoy key privileges over its competitors?
Grab yourself some popcorn - the Google / Oracle lawsuit and the Motorola acquisition is going to be fun.
Did you really need to read the footnotes to discover I am in no way surprised by these revelations? ↩
Google claims $4bn for Nortel patents is inflated. Says patent bubble will burst. Pays $12bn for Moto’s patents. Righto.
Didn’t see this coming. Looks like Google’s getting serious about building its own Android devices.
The PR tagline is interesting too (emphasis my own):
Combination will Supercharge Android, Enhance Competition, and Offer Wonderful User Experiences
I can’t help but wonder whether this’ll stiff all the other Android partners, and whether we’ll see any folks start to build more Windows Phone 7 handsets.
Via Dave Chartier.
(Source: chartier)
A tonne of great work by This Is My Next’s Nilay Patel in which he takes apart the filings from Skyhook Wireless claiming Google infringes their patents.
I’ve not yet had a chance to watch the full video, but if you’re looking for the complete rundown of what’s coming to Android this year, start here.
© Nik Fletcher 2007-2011 ~ Contact
